WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -shinten, collectively, sacred texts of the Shintō religion of Japan. Although there is no single text that is accepted as authoritative by all schools of Shintō thought, some books are considered invaluable as records of ancient beliefs and ritual; they are generally grouped together as shinten.

Detailed explanation-2: -The holy books of Shinto are the Kojiki or ‘Records of Ancient Matters’ (712 CE) and the Nihon-gi or ‘Chronicles of Japan’ (720 CE).

Detailed explanation-3: -The Kojiki is an important source book for ceremonies, customs, divination, and magical practices of ancient Japan. It includes myths, legends, and historical accounts of the imperial court from the earliest days of its creation up to the reign of Empress Suiko (628).

Detailed explanation-4: -The Kojiki is divided into three parts: the Kamitsumaki (, “first volume"), the Nakatsumaki (, “middle volume") and the Shimotsumaki (, “lower volume").

Detailed explanation-5: -The Kojiki was written in Chinese characters but with some Japanese adaptions in terms of sentence structure. There are some elements such as certain gods and names which show influence from China and Korea, but the work is, as a whole, an entirely Japanese construction.